Sophisticated jigsaw puzzles have previously been marketed in which many of the pieces are of the same size and shape so as the person xe2x80x9cmakingxe2x80x9d or assembling the puzzle is often required to rely only upon the portion of the picture carried by the front face of the individual puzzle piece to assess whether it is in the right position to complete the pictorial display.
The concept of interchangeable pieces has also been used in simpler puzzles designed for promotional or advertising purposes or the like where a pictorial display, that may or may not also include a written message, is supplied to a recipient in a scrambled form in order to induce the curious recipient to rearrange the pieces to solve the puzzle and in this manner be exposed to the message. An example of such promotional puzzles is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,664 (1982). This patent illustrates a label that is made of a lamination of two sheets held together by pressure-sensitive adhesive wherein a puzzle in scrambled form is printed in a circular frame region on the front sheet. The frame is divided into three identical regions of seven puzzle pieces each, with the shape of each piece in one region being different but with each piece in the region having two counterparts, one in each of the other regions. To facilitate solving the puzzle, a separate circular frame is provided on another section of the label. The puzzle piece, when removed from its original orientation, carries pressure-sensitive adhesive on its rear surface and can then be immediately placed onto the adjacent frame having the hopefully correct orientation as a step in solving the puzzle.
Such types of novel items that can be used for advertising and promotional purposes have proved popular, and there has been interest in providing improvements in this general theme. Accordingly, efforts have been made to develop other designs of relatively simple puzzles that can use pressure-sensitive adhesive to advantage in a novel item of this general character.
The invention associates a transparent backing sheet with a multi-piece puzzle wherein both faces of the puzzle pieces are utilized. Two-sided puzzle items of this general type are designed to be sent to recipients, e.g. as advertising material or simply postcards, and may include a transparent backing sheet having a frame region wherein a set of puzzle pieces are positioned. The puzzle pieces interfit with one another so as to substantially fill the frame region, and at least some of them are identical in size and shape. Pressure-sensitive adhesive is used to detachably adhere the set of pieces to the front surface of the backing sheet. The front faces of the set of puzzle pieces may be substantially blank, may contain a composite pictorial display or may contain a composite message, whereas the rear faces contain either a different composite message or a different composite pictorial display. When the puzzle item is distributed to the ultimate recipient, the set of puzzle pieces is arranged so that at least one of the sets of front and rear puzzle piece faces is scrambled and thus not comprehensible.
The nature of the item is such that the puzzle pieces can be removed one-by-one and reassembled, preferably on the rear surface of the backing sheet, by the recipient, who may be guided in achieving such reassembly by the representations on the front faces of the pieces. For example, the front faces may have a scrambled pictorial display that is then assembled in the manner of the usual jigsaw puzzle. Alternatively, each of the pieces may contain indicia on its front face which would direct the recipient to place the piece at a specific correspondingly shaped location on the rear surface of the backing sheet in the region of the frame. Once the reassembly of the pieces is completed, the message or pictorial display printed on the rear faces of the pieces has become comprehensible, and it can be viewed through the transparent backing sheet.
In one preferred embodiment considered to be particularly suited for advertising and promotional purposes, or alternatively for use as a game, the front faces of the set of puzzle pieces may have a pictorial display printed thereon, whereas the rear faces thereof contain an advertising or promotional message. In the initial orientation in which the item is distributed, both sets of puzzle piece faces are scrambled. When the pieces are reassembled so that the pictorial display on the front faces becomes comprehensible, the message on the rear faces is also comprehensible and is viewed through the transparent backing sheet.
In another preferred embodiment, the novelty item is created to be sold as a postcard, with the rear faces of the pieces containing an attractive picture of a local landmark or the like in scrambled condition. The front faces may provide a large blank space so as to facilitate the writing of a short greeting and message to the recipient. After the recipient reads the message and reassembles the pieces, perhaps guided by indicia printed in a corner of the front face of each piece, the rear faces of the pieces have now become assembled into the correct orientation so that the local landmark is now visible through the transparent backing sheet. In another alternative, the front faces may contain a printed message related to the geographical area plus space to write a brief message, and the pictorial display on the rear faces may become unscrambled. After adding the message to the kiss-cut pieces, the sender removes all of the pieces and replaces them in scrambled orientation. The card would contain a direction telling the recipient to unscramble the puzzle pieces in order to read the message.
In still another preferred embodiment, a two-sided puzzle item is provided which comprises first and second sheets both of which are printed on their front and rear surfaces. The two sheets are joined together in a face-to-face lamination wherein the inside surfaces are attached to each other by adhesive which includes at least a major region of pressure sensitive adhesive. A set of interfitting puzzle pieces is die-cut in adjacent sections of each of the sheets, which puzzle pieces are detachably attached to the inside surface of the other sheet in a first scrambled orientation, with at least some of said puzzle pieces being identical in size and shape. The set of scrambled puzzle pieces die-cut from the first sheet is originally positioned upon and attached to a printed section of the inside surface of the second sheet that contains a first visage, while the set of scrambled puzzle pieces die-cut in the second sheet is originally positioned upon and attached to a printed section of the second sheet that contains a second visage. The scrambled pieces can be removed so as to expose each of the first and second visages and then reassembled upon the respective outside surfaces of the sheets by attachment via the pressure-sensitive adhesive so as to respectively either complete or complement both of the visages.